Hey guys,

I collected a bunch of 65 t-bird front disc brake parts to try and build my own conversion kit for my 65 Merc and I’ve run into a problem I thought someone here might have tackled before. The t-bird spindles are too long and would interfere with my control arms and the existing spindles don’t have mounting holes for the calipers. There is (or was) a Kelsey Hayes caliper bracket that will work on a 65 mustang that they make repops of now. Any reason why that wouldn’t work on my Park Lane spindles? They don’t list these as compatible with a 65 Galaxie, which should be the same. See:

ETA: I’ve read about Granada spindles and apparently that’s an easier conversion but I’m pretty sure none of the parts I’ve collected will work with those spindles and I’d be starting from square 1.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/332511005323?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110025%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPOSITELISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150526101527%26meid%3Dee04b6ace982415b9595975c5d239e78%26pid%3D100417%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D8%26b%3D1%26sd%3D226438460091%26itm%3D332511005323%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D4567159%26algv%3DCompositeMixSimDefaultOrganicAndSimPLAlgo%23FilterOutCpc&_trksid=p4567159.c100417.m3734&mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e90001.m161560.l174179&plmtId=700009&mesgId=3041&mkcid=8&ch=osgood&bu=43812086310&trkId=3ceb3f3b-c527-350c-91dc-5096613e9919&cnvId=700003&recoId=332511005323&recoPos=4

I’m about to paint my old Merc that has a service block 428 and a C6 in it with a Pertonix distributor and I’ll have some funds left which is good because it’s actually pretty slow. Has regular FE heads on it and an aluminum modern Holley with electric choke. I’ve got some 1965 Mercury Marauder 390 heads, shop said $750 for a rebuild on them. Probably go with an Edelbrock Performer intake and use the same carb I already have. Need a cam. I’d like for it to sound really choppy and otherwise be a good street cam. Figured this would be the best place to ask. Open to other ideas. WWYD with $2500ish to spruce up and old 428?

TIA

Pre apology for this rant I just had to get this off my chest. I do as much of my own work as I can but I also have a bad back and sometimes need a mechanic to help me get things moving along with my projects. So, I guess it was about 3 years ago my transmission burnt up. Called a trans shop which sent me to another shop that “does C6s all the time” and $1200 later I thought I was in good shape. Turned out the hot trans fluid had internally cracked the trans cooler on the radiator and after figuring that out and replacing the radiator I thought I was good. Not long after that the starter went out. I didn’t know this yet but the trans rebuilder left out the block plate. Took the car to a known local hot rod mechanic who used to be good but now he just contracts out stuff and doesn’t care. Replaced starter, did not catch missing block plate. Starter went out again soon after that and chewed up the flywheel. I took it to a new place I thought was good (turns out no so much) and had them replace the starter, the fywheel and might as well do the rear main seal while you’re there. They discovered the missing block plate. A very nice person on these forums sent me one for free, I cleaned it up and it worked great. I thought things were good. Did have to whack the cheap starter with a hammer one time though. I dropped the gas tank, cleaned it out and fixed it up, new sending unit, etc. and car runs bad and then wont start. I replace coil, Pertronix, distributor rotor, plug wires, still no start. I get it back to the mechanic with a RobbMc starter and a brake upgrade kit that will allow me to switch to front disc later if I want. No start was an issue where something they did with the electric choke was causing it to ground out. They have the car for months, can’t figure out the starter, can’t figure out the brake kit. They aren’t returning my calls. I finally get ahold of them and I ask them to tow the car to another mechanic, they say they will and then don’t. I eventually get fed up, go over there myself, pay them $525 for doing nothing and get the car to the new mechanic, who I think maybe totally honest and a good guy which would be fantastic because everybody in this town sucks. Mechanics are so bad here in fact, I’ve thought about opening a shop because if you could actually do good work you’d be really busy. Anyway, anyone else had something like this happen? 1 thing goes wrong and 3 years and $5000 later things still aren’t fixed?

I’ve done a bit of research and I know a guy with a 63 R code Galaxie that has a fan shroud on it. It’s a top and bottom metal shroud that he thought was correct for the car, but in fact these cars came without a fan shroud from the factory. I purchased, I think it was from like a 63 Tbird with AC, a 2 piece left and right shroud that wouldn’t work. Someone, I can’t remember, maybe Ecklers, was making a top and bottom fiberglass shroud specifically for this application but they are sold out and I’ve been on a waitlist for like 2 years now with no idea if they’ll ever be made again. It has to look factory. Anybody know where I can get a top and bottom shroud that’ll work? TIA.

Have a 428 with a C6. Starter went out, I had a mechanic put a new one in, new starter ate the flywheel. Now at different mechanic, been held up for weeks because new mechanic seems sure it should have a block plate and it doesn’t. He can’t find one that fits. I think it never had one. He thinks it has to have one or I could end up in the same spot. Please help. Literally been dealing with this for years and it has cost me thousands because my starter went out.

Title pretty much says it all. 428 w C6. Hired a mechanic to put in a starter, got maybe 200 starts before it died and now I see there are some teeth on the flexplate that are pretty messed up. So, how do I get a replacement? I need one balanced exactly the same, right? Does that mean the old one needs to be removed so the new one can be balanced first? That’s what I’m assuming from other post I have read. Mechanic (different guy, never going back to old guy) wants me to find out for him, maybe get replacement before he takes the car. Photo of plate:

https://ibb.co/j3zFjRc

Potential replacement: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hay-12-050?rrec=true

1965 full sized Merc. There are 4 bolts holding the rear bumper bracket to the frame. 2 are out, one on each side. The difficult ones go through the frame and there’s a nut there that is difficult to reach. There is a decent sized access hole but it’s at a weird angle. I am able to get a flex extender on my impact driver and get that on the bolt head on the outside but there’s no way to hold the nut inside the frame. I offered a local mobile welder $100 to do the job and he declined. If it was clean metal I would weld the nut in place but it is rusty and hard to get to in order to clean. It’s even hard to get a picture but I tried. Any ideas? There’s very little room to move so any ideas of cutting or grinding the bolt head are out.


https://ibb.co/wR7v0FD

ETA: I can get a small air hammer to the bolt head but trying that will scratch my exhaust tips. Not a big deal if I was sure that would work, but I’m not.

Prefer black NOS but probably wont find one.